A husband and a wife have a relationship with each other, with their own parents, and their own siblings. One of these relationships should not superimpose on another relationship and take you away from fulfilling its rights and responsibilities. A new episode of “That’s Messed Up” will be available every Monday.

Basmalah (reciting Bismillah) which means “In the name of Allah”, has been an easy target for critics of Islam and has constantly been bombarded with illogical allegations. There stands a great need to clear out the very genuine queries which many non-muslim have regarding bismillah and also the need to answer all the allegations against it in order to stitch the mouth of all those illogical boasters who try and allege the authenticity of Islam.

In Aug 2011, Associated Press journalists Chris Hawley, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Matt Apuzzo began publishing a series of detailed reports exposing a decades long secret surveillance program. This program was engineered by the NYPD (with assistance from the CIA) to gather intelligence on entire Muslim communities. Operating under the auspices of the “Demographic Unit”, law enforcement spied on American Muslim citizens all along the Northeastern seaboard— from New Haven, CT to Philadelphia, PA. The extent and reach of this suspicion-less spying extended far beyond the boundaries of New York City; with local officials and police departments seemingly unaware that the NYPD was conducting such far-reaching clandestine activity outside of its jurisdiction.

This series of Associated Reports revealed the surreal and sordid details of a program that read more like a Hollywood Spy/Crime drama- filled with informants, undercover police officers (“rakers and mosque crawlers”), monitoring of masjids, bookstores, homes, cafés, halal meat markets, and other businesses. Muslim Students’ Associationswere also targeted for surveillance –including Yale MSA, City College of New York, Rutgers New Brunswick and UPenn MSA. NYPD informants infiltrated MSA student meetings, chat rooms, online forums and group outings. Based on information obtained by the Associated Press “Student groups were of particular interest to the NYPD because they attract young Muslim men, a demographic that terrorist groups frequently draw from. Police worried about which Muslim scholars were influencing these students and feared that extracurricular activities such as paintball outings could be used as terrorist training.”

Kim Kardashian has bared her bottom again, this time for the cover of Paper magazine, but is she just another symptom of postmodernist confusion and cultural decline or is there a deeper psychological explanation for her fame?

Native American and Canadian people are interested in Islam.” Leave the concrete cities, Oh Muslims, and do Dawah (outreach) in the Teepees (Aboriginal tents) and the Igloos and houses of the North!”
“Here is a shot taken today from Ojibwe country, Curve Lake Ontario. May Almighty Allah enable the Aboriginal people of the Americas, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific region, South East Asia, and the Arctic region to come into Islam in crowds. Surely Allah has power over all things!!!”

Over the last decade drug use has been gradually increasing within the Muslim community. In some areas it has reached crisis point and some are still under the impression that it is not an issue within the community. In the long term a single drug user has an impact upon the whole community.

Yet, with virtually no Islamically oriented treatment options available and with very few Muslims skilled in drug related work, Muslim parents are often left in a state of confusion. Nevertheless, they are often the first ones who seek help for their son or daughters drug use!

So what is a parent to do? Be patient and develop a strong trust based relationship with your son/daughter from a very young age as a preventative measure to such problems.

If you suspect that your child is using a substance try not to shout at them as this may cause an argument. Besides this, your suspicions may be wrong. If you have clear evidence that they are using drugs, approach the subject with them in a calm, controlled manner. Encourage them to open up to you, listen to them and advise.

The drug user can only be helped when they are ready to accept change. One of your roles will be that of a motivator. Seek to understand addiction in all its forms. More extreme forms of addiction create very strong inner tension. The pull can be so great that even highly motivated individuals will have a struggle to ‘break-free’ from drug misuse. Explain the detrimental influence their habit is having on all spheres of their life, family, social and work. Coming off drugs can be a long process. Don’t expect instant results. Learning lessons from the process is as important as the end result. Make it clear to them that you have their best interests at heart but also make clear to them what you will not tolerate.

Don’t suffer in silence. Speak to someone you trust for support. Make contact with your local Drugs Project. Ensure that they can provide an Islamically sensitive service for you.

Below we have summarised some of the common drugs prevalent in our society today.